The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and referred to by the cultivar name Class.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable colors and good form and substance.
The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross made by the Inventor in January, 1994, in Salinas, Calif., of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Sonata, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,810, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selection identified as 2729, as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Class was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in November, 1996. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence color and good form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.